All the fun of the Birdfair

Paul Tillsley - Head of Conservation & Education

The British Birdwatching Fair, aka the Birdfair, takes place each August at Rutland Water, in the old county of Rutland. Since its inception in 1989, the Birdfair has grown into the largest gathering of nature conservation organisations in Europe, attended by 1000s of conservation-minded people. The Birdfair gives organisations from around the world the opportunity to showcase their work and raises a large sum of money for nature conservation projects.

The League Against Cruel Sports has been attending the event for a number of years, thanks mainly to the efforts of the League’s Midlands Support Group, and in particular John Cooper, who each years builds an impressive League display stand that takes a dominant position in one of the main marquees.

This year the focus of the League’s Birdfair stand was the National Trust vote to stop allowing so-called trail hunting, a cynical cover for illegal hunting, on its land and to clamp down on those hunts that use Trust land without permission.

Hundreds of people visited the League’s stand during the course of the 3 day event, many of whom were already supporters, but a equal number who were learning about the League’s work for the first time. A gamekeeper who visited the stand, presumably expecting to find a group of ignorant ‘townies’, left saying he wouldn’t talk to us again, although it is doubtful he would change his ways. A few celebrities, such as Chris Packham and Bill Oddie (pictured above), also popped by to show their support.

A call for the National Trust to stop allowing hunts on its land, amid concerns that animals are still being chased and killed under the guide of 'trail' hunting, will be heard at more than 20 sites nationwide.

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As a team, we share the same passion – to stop animal cruelty in the name of sport. We are a tight knit team and we work hard within a fun, relaxed environment. We also offer something many employers don’t – an office full of friendly dogs!

Hunting was banned in England and Wales in 2004, but the law has never been properly enforced, and attempts to weaken or repeal it continue. The hunting law in Scotland is weak, and hunting is still legal in Northern Ireland.

Hurting and killing animals for ‘sport’ is one of the principal causes of animal cruelty in the UK: tens of millions suffer and die each year for ‘leisure’ activities. We’re here to protect those animals.

The Hunting Act 2004 is the law which bans chasing wild mammals with dogs in England and Wales – this basically means that fox hunting, deer hunting, hare hunting, hare coursing and mink hunting are all illegal, as they all are cruel sports based on dogs chasing wild mammals.

Bullfighting is perhaps the most well known spectator “sport” involving the killing of animals for entertainment. It has already been banned in most countries, but each year tens of thousands of bulls are maimed, tortured and killed for entertainment in Spain, Portugal, France, Colombia, Mexico, USA, Venezuela, Ecuador and Peru.

The hidden side of greyhound racing includes dogs kept for long periods in lonely kennels, painful injuries from racing and training, illness and neglect. Shockingly, thousands of surplus dogs die or disappear every year. The League believes dogs should not suffer or die for entertainment or for the profit of the dog racing industry.